


Shout Out to My Ex

by brokenpromisesandhope



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Badass, Bisexuality, Break Up, Dustin has a huge ass crush on Nancy, F/F, F/M, Feminist Themes, Flirting, Heads up Steve is a big dick, High School, Misogyny, Sexism, Slut Shaming, Song Lyrics, Swearing, Talent Shows, Underage Drinking, girls supporting girls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-16 04:01:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14156256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brokenpromisesandhope/pseuds/brokenpromisesandhope
Summary: Nancy faces the town after being called “Nancy the slut Wheeler” in front of everyone.





	Shout Out to My Ex

**Author's Note:**

> Hey friends. All of a sudden I got the idea of Nancy being a bomb ass singer, in a skirt, being a truly bad bitch. 1) will I ever write a fic where Nancy’s not wearing a goddamn skirt? Probably not. 2) I love my white chocolate son Steve but like Nancy is the LOML and she needed this.  
> 3) I’m colored so no comments about Kali’s colored comment lol  
> 4) I will so write more because girls supporting girls but also I could be persuaded to redeem my boo steve  
> 5) also y’all know y’all KNOW that Nancy is a bad feminist bitch who doesn’t give a FUCK  
> Also this is kinda different so please comment/kudos  
> Xx  
> T

Nancy had forgotten for a moment. Just one moment. She was in her own fantasy world, in 2017 where things were equal- working on getting equal- dammit, she’d been schooled on the fact many a times, and she’d just forgot. Forgot that she was a white, queer, woman, living in Hawkins, Indiana. 

The problem was probably not Steve Harrington himself. The problem was the world that allowed Steve Harrington to act the way he did. Nancy dug it, she did. She liked Steve. He was funny and cool, and he knew where to get the good weed and how to make her come and he secretly liked chick flicks and always let her control the stereo in his car. He knew her coffee order and would sneak through her bedroom window so they could smoke Marlboro’s and fuck on the roof, underneath the stars, very hipster and right up her alley. 

And Nancy liked him. They were a power couple. When they walked down the halls, people moved out of their way. Nancy’d always thought she was approachable, until she started dating Steve. And yeah, she’d milked it a little and started wearing the purple lipstick she usually only wore to the club, and skirts and she bought one of those stupid gold plated necklaces with his name on it.

But Steve was like every other teenage boy, hormonal and possessive. And he didn’t like Nancy hanging out with other guys. Except Nancy didn’t really consider Jonathan Byers another guy, especially since she’d known him all of her life. Their brothers had played together for years, and it was only natural for them to hang out. It was convenient as well. Jonathan had given Nancy a ride when she’d got a flat tire on the way to school, and sat on the curb, sobbing because no one would answer their phone and she didn’t know what to do. Jonathan had driven by and given Nancy a ride, even bought her an iced coffee to try to make her feel better. 

Then there was the time that Steve was out of town and Nancy got hammered at Barb’s party, and Jonathan had driven her home. Nothing had happened, Nancy distinctly remembers tearing off her vodka soaked top and skirt, leaving her in a bralette and panties and Jonathan hiding behind her door. He tosses her the plaid shirt he’s wearing over his t-shirt and she wraps it around herself, flopping back on the bed, giggling. She remembers Jonathan singing to her, only after she’d begged and begged, and tugged him on to her bed, to lay with her. 

Nancy should have expected it, really. She knew how it looked, when Steve came home early and burst into her room, to find her on her bed, under her covers,Jonathan on top of the covers, but next to her. But nothing happened, how could he think something would happen? She loved him. At least as much as you could at seventeen years old. And Jonathan was like, her brother. If he was going to get with anything, it would be Barb. She’d seen the way he looked at her at lunch when he invited her to help him with his photoshoot down at the pier. And Steve had sworn up and down he wasn’t upset. That he believed her. 

And then Nancy got a text from Caroline Matthews, and a facetime from Barb. By the time Nancy arrives at the movie theater it’s too late. Barb’s there, and Jonathan, and the rest of the fucking town. To see, sprayed painted in bright red paint under “all the right moves” it says- staring Nancy ‘THE SLUT’ Wheeler. In the middle of the goddamn town square. 

Tears spring to her eyes immediately because he wouldn’t do this, he wouldn’t, but there’s Steve, next to Tommy and Carol, leaning against the dumpster next to the movie theater. Nancy storms up to him, but before she can make it, Jonathan’s there, shoving Steve. 

“Jonathan stop!” She shouts, reaching for his arm. 

“Fuck you Harrington.” 

“Sorry, I’m only into chicks. Though I think you know that, we have pretty similar tastes,” Steve says, shoving him back, “Oh hey Nance. Can’t wait to see your movie.” 

She rolls her eyes, even though there are tears in them,  
“Very clever. Slut shaming. All your tiny brain could handle, I see.” 

“Spreading your legs was all you could handle I see,” Steve spits. And his brown eyes are narrowed and Nancy can see the hurt, and she can smell the liquor on his breath, but she did nothing wrong. 

“Don’t talk to her like that,” Jonathan snaps. 

“How does my dick taste Byers?” Steve asks. 

Before Jonathan even gets a chance to hit Steve, Nancy does. No matter how much her dad resented her because he didn’t have a son, he’d taught her everything she needed to know, firstly, how to punch properly. It hurts of course, because of the force, but at least she didn’t break her thumb on impact. Steve on the other hand is taken aback and stumbles back a step. Jonathan wraps his arms around Nancy and pulls her back, and she barely has a chance to holler, 

“Fuck you Steve Harrington!” 

No one sees Nancy Wheeler for two days. (Mostly because she’s sobbing into her pillow and blasting Mary J Blige and stuffing her face with whole pints of ice cream.

Here we have Nancy Wheeler, crying over a boy. Not even a super cute boy. Okay, he was super cute, but he was a super cute average white boy and she could probably find a hundred more if she would just get the fuck out of this town. 

Which she could. It was her senior year. The start of her goddamn senior year, and she was not going to let some nasty boy ruin it. Because that’s what Steve Harrington was, a pathetic little boy, who couldn’t stand up and be a man. 

So she takes her couple of days off, and then it’s Friday. The school talent show. She was going to perform, mostly because her brother’s little girlfriend El, had been scared to try out for it alone, so Nancy said she’d go first. It was a big deal, and both the combined middle school and high school all joined together in the auditorium. 

The only problem was, it had to be during the school day, and if your parents couldn’t get off. So Mike was going to be there for Nancy, and Nancy was going to be there for Mike and El. She could sing, and well. She’d originally planned on doing a simple rendition of ‘Some Hearts’ by Carrie Underwood, when she was inspired. 

She’d walked downstairs to grab another pint of ice cream, wearing ratty pajamas, hair greasy, and still unshowered, and she saw Mike, and all his friends sitting at the table. 

“What’s wrong with her?” Max asks, probably in what she thinks is a quiet voice, as Nancy reaches in the freezer. 

“Her boyfriend dumped her.” 

And she turns around just in time to see Max roll her eyes. The thing is, she likes Max, and she knows Max likes her. She prides herself on being an example to the younger girls, to be the older sister they’d never had. She prided herself on being a feminist. A badass bitch who didn’t let anyone fuck with her. And here she was, letting Steve Harrington fuck with her. 

So she changes her song, and goes to the mall and picks out an outfit, and practices like nobody's business. 

She takes hours getting ready, showering and shaving and washing her hair. She blow dries it and then curls it perfectly, tossing it with some hairspray. She applies too much shimmery eyeshadow and winged liner and coats her lashes in black mascara. She applies highlighter and red lipstick and puts in her silver hoop earrings that her mom told her were too big. The outfit is supposed to be a play on a cheerleading costume, with a white cropped v-neck shirt that shows off equal parts cleavage and pierced belly button, and a red cotton skirt. She slides on some thigh high black boots, and heads downstairs. 

Mike and El are on the loveseat, Lucas and Max are on the couch next to Will and Dustin, 

“Holy shit Nancy, you look hot!” 

“Don’t swear,” Nancy says, grabbing her keys off of the key holder, “If you guys want a ride, let’s go.”

“What song are you singing?” El asks, as they squish into Nancy’s red Jetta. 

“I’d rather keep it a surprise,” Nancy says, winking at her in the rearview mirror. 

“Why the fuck are you still wearing that necklace?” Max asks. 

“Don’t worry my dear girl, it’s all part of the plan.”

She nods, arms crossed over her chest,  
“At least you look better than the last few days. I was worried I’d have to force you into the shower.”

Nancy flips her off,  
“I, I forgot who I was momentarily. But I’m back now.”

“Hear that? Hottest girl in Hawkins is back!” Dustin cheers. 

Mike shoves him,  
“Dude, that’s my sister.”

“Still hot,” Lucas says, fist bumping Dustin. 

Both Nancy and El have to wait behind stage because they’re performers. Nancy rarely gets stage fright, but El is super nervous. Nancy sits with her and holds her hand as they Wait their turns. It’s not too long before Nancy’s being announced and El gives her a huge hug, before Nancy flounces out on stage. 

She starts out with her hands on her hips, and looks out at the crowd. Mike’s got his group of friends on one side, she can see Barb and Jonathan sitting towards the front, and of course, there’s Steve towards the back, with Tommy and Carol and a water bottle that of course isn’t filled with water.  
Anger flares up inside her, and she starts to sing, 

This is a shout out to my ex  
Heard he in love with some other chick  
Yeah yeah, that hurt me, I'll admit  
Forget that boy, I'm over it  
She brushes off her shoulder and shimmies across stage, 

I hope she gettin’ better sex,  
she slides her hand across her chest, cupping her breast, before resting on her hip,  
Hope she ain't fakin’ it like I did, babe

 

Took four long years to call it quits  
Forget that boy, I'm over it  
she gives a little bow,  
Guess I should say thank you  
For the hate yous and the tattoos  
Oh baby, I'm cool by the way  
Ain't sure I loved you anyway

 

Go 'head, babe, I'mma live my life, my life, yeah  
Shout out to my ex, you're really quite the man  
You made my heart break and that made me who I am  
Here's to my ex, hey, look at me now  
Well, I, I'm all the way up  
I swear you'll never bring me down

 

Shout out to my ex, you're really quite the man  
You made my heart break and that made me who I am  
she twirls around,  
Here's to my ex, hey, look at me now  
Well, I'm, I'm all the way up  
I swear you'll never, you'll never bring me down

 

Oh, I deleted all your pics  
Then blocked your number from my phone  
she caresses herself again, rocking her hips from  
Side to side,  
Yeah yeah, you took all you could get  
But you ain't getting this love no more  
‘Cause now I'm living so legit  
Even though you broke my heart in two, baby

 

But I snapped right back, I'm so brand new, baby  
Boy, read my lips, I'm over you, over you, uh, she bends over and points to her glossy red lips and winks, 

Guess I should say thank you  
For the "hate yous" and the tattoos  
Oh baby, I'm cool by the way  
Ain't sure I loved you anyway

 

Go 'head, babe, I'mma live my life, my life, yeah  
Shout out to my ex, you're really quite the man  
You made my heart break and that made me who I am

 

She holds her hands out and looks around,  
Here's to my ex, hey, look at me now  
Well, I'm, I'm all the way up  
I swear you'll never bring me down  
Shout out to my ex, you're really quite the man  
You made my heart break and that made me who I am

 

Here's to my ex, hey, look at me now  
Well, I'm, I'm all the way up  
I swear you'll never, you'll never bring me down  
You’ll never bring me down  
Shout out to my ex, you're really quite the man  
You made my heart break and that made me who I am

 

She twirls again, flipping her hair,  
Here's to my ex, hey, look at me now  
Well, I'm all the way up  
I swear you'll never, you'll never bring me down  
Shout out to my ex, you're really quite the man  
(You're quite the man)  
You made my heart break and that made me who I am

 

Here's to my ex, hey, look at me now  
Well, I'm, I'm all the way up, I swear you'll never bring me down  
(You'll never bring me down)  
She yanks at the necklace and hears the claps pop, and then the thin gold band, sits in her hand, Steve Harrington, you're really quite the man  
You made my heart break and that made me who I am

 

Here's to my ex, hey, look at me now  
(Won't you just look at me now)  
Well, I'm, all the way up  
I swear you'll never, you'll never bring me down  
You'll never bring me down

She twirls on the last note and drops the microphone, finally using both hands to flip up her skirt. She’s wearing a pair of white cheekie underwear (because she has a nice ass) that have SLUT painted in bright red paint. It’s silent for a moment and then people start cheering.

She laughs. And stands up, before she gets suspended. She grabs the mic and gives a little courtesy, which is hilarious because the entire school just saw her ass, and says,  
“Thank you. Also in case it wasn’t clear, fuck you Steve.” 

And walks off stage to even more cheers. It’s nice to get confirmation from others that Steve was a dick, but these were the same people laughing and putting the movie board on Snapchat. It’s the perk and downfall of living in a small town. When they hate you they hate you, and when they love you, they love you. 

 

Which is why she hadn’t done it for the town. Or anyone else really. (Well maybe El and Max, and Holly and every other girl who was taught that having an opinion made you a bitch and having consensual sex made you a slut). She’d done it for herself. She’d cried over her body and colored her hair and studied until she’d passed out too much, for someone to let her hate herself again. 

When she gets off stage El runs into her arms and gives her the tightest hug, she laughs and pulls back,  
“I take it that was good?” 

El slaps her shoulder and Nancy winces,  
“What the hell?” 

“How am I supposed to follow that up? That was fucking amazing!” 

“Stop, you’re gonna kill it, I promise. Now go on. I’d go out there with you if I wasn’t afraid that Principal Waters would snatch me off stage and expel me. Now come on, I’ll be right here.” 

So El heads out to the stage and sits at the piano that had been drug on stage for her and starts playing. Nancy smiles and leans against the wall, watching El. She nearly screams when she feels a tap on her shoulder. It’s another high schooler, a junior maybe a senior, but one Nancy’s never seen before, trust me she’d remember her. She’s got black hair with purple tips that falls in curls and she’s wearing smudged eyeliner, a leather jacket over a white T-shirt and leggings. She looks hot as hell and she’s got hips for days, 

“Sorry for scaring you,” she starts, leaning against the wall, next to Nancy, “I just had to say, that, was straight up one of the most badass things I’ve ever seen.”

Nancy feels her face heat up,  
“Really? Um, thank you.”

“No problem, that was, wild. Steve truly needed to be taken down a few pegs. I mean, I thought you did too, but you’re smoking hot and I’m gay as hell so I just kinda let that slide.”

Nancy bursts out a laugh and smiles,  
“I’m Nancy Wheeler,” she hold out a hand and the girl takes it, 

“I’m Kali Prasad. Are we dropping the slut, or is that just for people you know well?” She asks, eyes locked on Nancy’s cleavage. 

Before Nancy can finish licking her lips and respond, someone slaps her ass, hard. Before she can object, Barb is throwing her arms around her,  
“You are the baddest bitch I know! Holy shit, Nance!” 

Jonathan is next to her, cheeks pink and hair ruffled,  
“Yeah, Nancy, holy shit. You, wow.” 

Nancy smiles,  
“Thanks you guys. This is Kali. Kali, this is my best friend Barb and her boyfriend Jonathan.” 

Jonathan’s jaw drops and he splutters,  
“I, we’re, I didn’t-“

“Her boyfriend,” Nancy says firmly, just as Mike and his friends rush up to meet El. 

“Holy shit Nancy,” Dustin starts bowing like he’s praying, “hottest girl in Hawkins, I’m telling you. Can I get a private show?” 

Nancy rolls her eyes and smacks him across the head. Lucas doubles over laughing, and Will smacks Dustin again for good measure. Nancy gives him a high five, she always liked him. 

“I take it back, you fucking did that,” Max says, throwing an arm around Nancy’s waist. 

“Well thank you for your approval Maxine.”

Max glares at her,  
“I’ll let you get away with that since you just flashed the whole school, in what might be the sluttiest anti-slut campaign ever.” 

Nancy laughs,  
“You think so?” 

“I know so,” Mike says, walking up, holding El’s hand, “Also, that was pretty amazing, but why didn’t you warn me about the flashing, my eyes are burning!” 

Nancy just raises an eyebrow,  
“Please don’t make me bring up the time I walked into your bedroom and saw-“

“LALALA, who barges into someone’s room without knocking?!” Mike demands. 

Nancy rolls her eyes, then suddenly very aware of Kali still standing there, watching in amusement,  
“Sorry, got distracted by my personal fan club. What are you performing?” 

Kali snorts,  
“Nothing too interesting now, compared to you at least. Stay and watch though?” 

Nancy nods,  
“Of course. And I’m sure it will be.”

She shakes her head,  
“Probably not. I didn’t think to add in any nudity,” she rolls her eyes dramatically, “dammit! Anyway, if you stick around and don’t think it sucks that bad, then maybe we can like, get a milkshake after?” 

Nancy raises an eyebrow in shock,  
“You realize I’m the town slut right?”

“And I’m the town colored person. We’ll make an interesting pair.”

Nancy let’s out a laugh and Kali follows suit,  
“We will,” she looks Kali up and down again, “your treat.” 

“Well Of course.” 

Nancy smiles,  
“Okay, go get ready then if you’re next, you’re making me nervous!” 

Kali just smiles and heads over to the announcer. Nancy turns to her friends, who’ve just been watching with wide eyes,  
“You wanna watch and wait, or take the kids and I’ll meet you there?” 

“No, we need to stay, and keep an eye on you little vixen,” Barb says. 

“I second that. You can’t be left alone for two seconds without someone putting the moves on you!” Mike says loudly. 

“I’m telling you Mike, hottest girl in Hawkins, hottest girl in Hawkins,”’Dustin repeats, shaking his head. 

Nancy laughs and rolls her eyes, pulling Dustin in for a side hug,  
“Thanks bud.” 

Kali ends up singing ‘New Rules’ by Dua Lipa, and by the time she’s done, the kids are begging to go get ice cream. So Nancy let’s her younger brother drag her along, and she grabs Kali’s arm to drag her along too, and she coyly smiles and tucks a lock of hair behind her ear and tells her she did a good job. 

Jonathan holds the door to the parking lot open for them and as Nancy heads out, she sees Steve and Tommy sitting on the hood of Steve’s car, taking gulps out of the water bottle. Steve sees her and his face drops. She just stares, doesn’t know how to react, and finally he gives her a nod. She knows Steve. Knows it’s an, I fucked up nod. An, I’m sorry but I don’t know if I can say it out loud nod. You did good, nod. I deserved it, nod. Those were my favorite panties, nod. So Nancy nods back and tightens her grip on Kali’s arm, and lets her personal fan club take her out for milkshakes.


End file.
